Author: Vesselin

DDR. The reformed Second Division championship kicked in this season – now it was made of two groups of 18 teams each. The winners were directly promoted to the top level and the last three – relegated to Third Division. The second teams of first division clubs were allowed to play here, but unable to move to the top league. They could be relegated down, though – and also promoted from third level to the second. Five such teams played in the new second division, but why they were included is a bit unclear – one can understand automatic inclusion of the leading clubs, but Rot-Weiss (Erfurt) was not among them and Carl Zeiss (Jena) was not strong at the moment. Lokomotive (Leipzig) and 1. FC Magdeburg on the other hand were not included. Anyhow, the new championship started and finished, without producing anything new: the usual bulk of clubs with scary industrial names played minor roles as they did before the championship was reformed. Former First Division members were the only candidates for promotion and, as it was for many years, the leaders were not challenged by anybody.

1. FC Union (Berlin) easily won Group A after 21 wins, 8 ties, and 5 losses. They scored 81 goals – the most in the whole Second Division, allowing 29 in their net. 50 points gave then a solid 5 point-lead at the end – they had no rival. Once again Union was going up.

BSG Energie (Cottbus), a possible candidate for promotion, finished 4th – a good 8 points behind Union. Top row from left: Horst Krautzig, Hans-Dieter Paulo, Detlef Irrgang, Andreas Wolf, Dietmar Drabow.

Third row: Ralf Lempke, Udo Stimpel, Maik Pohland, Lars Petzold, Jens Melzig, Reinhard Noack.

Second row: Hagen Wellschmidt, Roland Balck, Andreas Leuthäuser, Reimund Städler.

Front row: Karsten Dietrich, Ingolf Krause, Ralf Wilken.

Group B. A mirror image of Group A – one unchallenged leader and nothing else.

HFC Chemie (Halle), a possible candidate for promotion before the season, did nothing much and they were 2nd in the final table. Distant second, 5 points behind the winners.

BSG Sachsenring (Zwickau) dominated the championship, winning it with 54 points. 24 wins, 6 ties, 4 losses, 73-27 goal-difference and the best defensive record this season. Just like Union (Berlin), Sachsenring was simply returning to First Division.

No change of status quo at all – if Fenerbahce and Besiktas competed for the title, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor competed for the Cup, the leading 4 clubs dominating all tournaments. And just as the championships was tough and dramatic battle, the Cup final was as well. The opponents were well matched, none giving up a inch. A lot was at stake – the trophy itself, naturally, but also the last Turkish European spot – there were only three, so one team inevitably was out, and also a chance for both ambitious teams to win a trophy, to save the season. Galatasaray won the first leg 2-1, but away, prevailing in the hostile Trabzon. The second leg was scoreless and the Cup was theirs.

Trabzonspor was left emptyhanded this season, which was not exactly great for this fine squad. Standing from left: Necati Özçağlayan, Şenol Güneş, Tuncay, Şenol Ustaömer, Hasan Vezir, Güngör Şahinkaya. First row: Turgay Semercioğlu, Kemal Serdar, Osman Denizci, Lemi Çelik, Hasan Şengün.

Yes, a good number of Turkish stars were playing for Trabzon, but times were changing – having foreign talent was becoming a must. May be that was the little difference giving the edge to Istanbul-based rivals. May be Trabzonspor had to change its approach – competing with the rich and mighty Istanbul clubs was not easy anyway.

A club like Galatasaray cannot be really toothless even when having so-so season. Winning the Cup was fine compensation for the weak season and the heads were proudly up again. It was not an easy victory, but a victory it was and at least for the fans the drama of the final is enjoyable. It was also satisfying finish for Abramczik, who was not to play for Galatasaray any more. On the other hand, it was getting tiring to see the same clubs winning every year. Well, just tell that to Galatasaray fans…

First Division. Naturally, it was here where the improvement of Turkish football was clearly seen. Professional stability of most clubs for sure and along with that bigger impact of foreign players. Turkey was repeating Greece of the 1970s – more clubs were getting foreign players and the recruits were of higher quality. Foreigners were imported for a long time and even by Second Division clubs – from the end of the 1950s – but it had been sporadic affair and in the past mostly old players came. Now it was steady practice and more clubs were involved – not all, to be sure, but more than before. And the players were younger and better. Mostly Yugoslavians, but increasingly German players as well. A big country somewhat demands bigger league, especially when the sport is popular and the clubs could get steady financing. Already the top league grew to 18 teams and was going to 19 the next year – reasons were perhaps mixed: on one hand large league could satisfy local ambitions and on the other hand clumsy Second Division needs some real award for the winners. Thus, three teams were going up after the end of the season from second level, but only 2 were relegated. In a nut shell, this championship had one outsider; all newcomers survived and remained for the next championship; 11 clubs were largely concerned with survival, Galatasaray was something like decline; there were two outstanding and domineering leaders, which made fascinating race for the title, won at the end not by points, but by goal-difference. High drama.

Boluspor was the hopeless outsider – last with 17 points, most of which came from ties, for the team won only 3 games.

Antalyaspor was rather unfortunate – they finished with 28 points, which placed them 17th and were the second relegated team. Not worse than more than half the league, but going down.

Denizlispor was lucky – 16th with 29 points. Lucky, because only 2 teams were relegated, instead of three, as it used to be.

Altay (Izmir), just coming back from Second Division exile, finished 15th with 30 points. So far – so good, they were perhaps not aiming for more than just clinging in the top league for the moment.

Malatyapor – 14th with 31 points. Like Altay, a newcomer and quite modest, so it was fine ending.

Bursaspor – 13th with 31 points. A weak season, surely.

Zonguldakspor – avoiding relegation was pretty much their traditional aim and the boys managed to succeed: 12th with 31 points.

Genclerbirligi – technically, the second important club of Ankara, but never strong enough. The lower half of the table was their normal location and no change this season either – 11th with 31 points. Avoiding relegation was all they were happy with.

Eskisehirspor performed best of the newcomers this year – 10th with 32 points. But it was still the same modest goal all newcomers had: to survive. Trying to come back from a low period and still rather weak.

Orduspor generally had one aim – to maintain a place in the top league. This they achieved and thanks to 33 points, finished quite well – 9th.

Sariyer (Istanbul) – 8th with 33 points. Final table counts… escaping relegation was on their minds during the season. At the end, though – solid mid-table position! Good season! Next would be better. Here is a taste of the new policies of Turkish clubs: two Yugoslavs in the squad – Hodzic, 1st standing from left, and Celebic, 3rd standing from left. Not first-rate players, but solid professionals.

Kocaelispor – 7th with 34 points. Similar to Sariyer – once out of trouble, everything was fine.

Sakaryaspor – 6th with 34 points. Strong season, one of their best so far. Temporary ascend or not, they had the right to boast: equal to Galatasaray!

What is great season for one is disaster for other – Galatasaray was 5th, ahead of modest Sakaryaspor only on goal-difference. A tragedy! And that with former national team players of West Germany and Yugoslavia and Turkish national team regulars! Standing from left: Rasit, Erdal, Guneyt, Ismail, Yusuf, Semih. Crouching: Simovic, Abramczik, Fatih, Adnan, Bulent Alkilic.

Ankaragucu – seemingly, going up and up, after their recent return from Second Division. May be joining the leading 4 clubs, making it five? Only future could tell, but they were 4th with 38 points. Good reason to believe in them at the moment.

Trabzonspor – running strong and that with seemingly different approach, than their rivals employed: they put faith on Turkish players. No foreigners here and it worked fine. 3rd with 42 points.

Besiktas – wonderful, yet, unhappy season. Aimed for the title, played outstanding season, and lost on goal-difference. They had only one rival and far above the rest of the league, including Galatasaray and Trabzonspor, but no luck at the end. 19 wins, 12 ties, 3 losses, 50 points. 49-19 made their goal-difference +30. Not bad? Not good enough… ahead of them was a team with +40. The Yugoslavs Kovacevic and Secerbegovic were lower level than the foreigners in Galatasaray, but blended better and contributed more.

Fenerbahce clinched their 11th title thanks to superior goal-difference. Strong, no doubt, but they faced formidable rival and the victory was dramatic. They had their own Yugoslavs to help – pretty much of the same level of those playing for Besiktas. Pesic and Repcic were somewhat second-tier Yugoslav stars, but perhaps a bit stronger professionals than Kovacevic and Secerbegovic. More dangerous strikers for sure. With them, Fenerbahce scored plenty of goals – 65, the most in the league, and good 16 more than Besiktas. The defense was also up to the task and the team lost only twice this season. This clinched the title.

One more look of the 1984-85 Turkish champions.

Turkey. Second Division. To a point, development of the sport could be seen better through second level rather than the first one: it is convulsive road. One demand is putting more professional clubs on the stage. The other is reduction, for desires and reality rarely match. So, the Turkish Second Division was no exception: there were many changes of the format and the number of the teams. At the moment the Second Division had three groups of 16 teams each, somewhat geographically organized. The winners were promoted, the last two teams – relegated. Simple, on the surface, but it was difficult task because of uneven economic development of country’s regions – traditionally, most clubs were situated on the Mediterranean coast and Istanbul. The far East lagged behind. The European part of the country, west of Istanbul, also lacked economic power. No matter what, a smallish club from Istanbul or Izmir was in much better shape than a club from, say, Van. But to have Second Division made of mostly Istanbul-based clubs was not serving development, so geography had to be wider. Wider geography, weaker clubs… plus the transportation difficulties. Constant struggle. In view of organizing Third Division, some regularity and order had to exist – another struggle. At least this season was orderly – no team folded because of financial difficulties. As for the rest… it depends: good thing football was passionately accepted around the country, but too many second level clubs were nothing to brag about.

Group A.

Adana Demirspor ended 9th with 29 points. Here is prime example of geographic relativity of the second level structure: Adana had 2 teams in the Second Division, but no derby, for they played in different groups.

There was no real competitive edge in this group – Rizespor dominated the championship, finishing 8 points ahead of 2nd placed Diyarbakirspor. They lost only 2 games and won 18 of the 30 championship games. Standing from left: C.Alptekin (coach), S.Yenigün, E.Kolçak, E.Tombul, H.Kürkçü, İ.Şenol Bayraktar, H.Fehmi Durmuş

First row: M.Hacıömeroğlu, M.Bak,T.Kural, M.Yıldız, H.İlik.

Rizespor was going up for another try in the top league and good for them. The picture also shows a typical problematic element of development: grass was mostly absent cover of most stadiums.

Group B. May be not stronger than Group A, but at least more competitive – 4 teams tried to come on top, 3 of them former First Division members, one quite famous, now having hard times.

Adanaspor played here and finished outside the leading group – 5th with 33 points.

At the bottom was a team hardly heard of – one of the many clubs making the numbers rather than anything else. Kutahyaspor finished 15th and was relegated. No lack of trying – with 1 point more, they would have been out of trouble – but going down at the end.

But the top of the table was more interesting and important.

Tarsus Idman Yurdu Erkutspor finished 4th with 37 points.

Goztepe (Izmir) – 3rd with 38 points. Down on their luck for quite some time, unfortunately.

Konyaspor – 2nd with 38 points. Unable to climb back to the top league this season.

Kayserispor prevailed at the end with 40 points. Well done and going back to First Division.

Group C. One team dominated the championship of the biggest group – it had 17 teams. However, apart from the winners, there were no recent top league members. Instead, here were some clubs with steady and solid Second Division presence – PTT and Vefa Simtel.

As for the others… well, Suleymaniye Sirkeci was seemingly playing on decent grass, but they finished 16th and moved down to Third Division.

Vefa Simtel were perhaps the archetype second level club – once upon a time they played in the top division, but second level was really their environment. Solid and stable for constant mid-table position. Also one of the few clubs in the country clearly associated with their sponsor – it was part of the club’s name. This year – 8th with 31 points.

Galata did well – by their own measures. 5th with 36 points. Not to be confused with Galatasaray – this is Istanbul-based club, but small one. One of the many clubs hidden in the shadows of the Big Three.

Karsiyaka finished 2nd with 42 points. Well done, but promotion was not in the books – they merely did better than others, without challenging the leader even for a moment. Interesting sponsor they had – one may think the Danish beer-producing giant would sponsor top-league club.

Samsunspor dominated the championship, winning it with 52 points. The best record in all three groups . As the other two winners, they were merely returning to top flight after relegation.

Well, that were the newly promoted, going to First Division – Samsunspor, Rizespor, and Kayserispor. All former top league members. After the regular season a mini-tournament was played between the champions – it had interesting prize: not only the winner will be the champion of the whole Second Division, but it will represent Turkey in the Balkan Coup. True, the tournament lost its luster, as every regional competition by mid-1980s, but it was wise decision by the Turkish Federation – lower level clubs had to have some international exposure, if improvement was to take place. Given the results of the season, Samsunspor would be seen as the likeliest winner, but Kayserispor won the final stage.

The Cup final opposed Widzew (Lodz) to GKS Katowice. Drama was big, quality – doubtful. Scoreless final, going into penalty shoot-out, in which Widzew prevailed 3-1. May be not a great final, but important in perspective.

GKS Katowice was unfortunate, but perhaps this final fueled so far modest club for good years ahead. A team on ascend, still in early stage.

Widzew (Lodz) won a trophy this year, keeping up its prominence, which started roughly in 1980. From left: Włodzimierz Smolarek, Henryk Bolesta, Roman Wójcicki, Kazimierz Przybyś, Marek Podsiadło, Mirosław Myśliński, Tadeusz Światek, Jerzy Leszczyk, Dariusz Dziekanowski, Marek Dziuba, Krzysztof Kamiński. Already experienced squad and seemingly managing to avoid decline by inclusion of new good players – Boniek was gone, but Smolarek became the leader; Mlynarczik went to play in Portugal, but good replacement was recruited immediately – Henryk Bolesta. Half of the squad were regulars in the national team. Dariusz Dziekanowski was very promising youngster. Seemingly, Widzew had wise policy, but how long the club would be able to keep up with departures was also a valid question. The pressures were great – Boniek was goen, Mlynarczik was gone, it was clear that Smolarek, Wojcicki, Dzuiba would be gone soon and then what? So, enjoy the moment – and what a moment it was! Widzew won the Cup for the first time! That was then… enjoy the moment now: so far, this is the only Cup Widzew won. Singular significance, thus, memorable.

First Division. Four teams competed for the title – which was good. None was exceptional – which is bad. And they were head and shoulders above the rest of the league – which was not good too.

Wisla (Krakow) was the outsider of the championship – last with 21 points. Why they went down so terribly is perhaps unimportant, but certainly was unexpected. Yes, Wisla lost its edge, went into decline, but relegation was not in the cards. Until it happened. And why? There were Polish champions and national team players in the squad. The most promising young player of the country was here – Iwan. What exactly was wrong?

Radomiak (Radom) – 15th with 25 points. Debutantes and especially accidental debutantes are not expected to last in new and strange environment – Radomiak belongs to this category and no surprise they went back to Second Division immediately. However, they lost only on goal-difference and unlike Wisla tried hard to survive.

Slask (Wroclaw) escaped relegation thanks to better goal-difference, taking 14th place. Quite telling – modest and unassuming Radomiak was the company of successful in the recent past Wisla and Slask.

Lechia (Gdansk), the surprise Cup winners in 1983, were truly invigorated by the success – they not only won promotion to First Division, but managed to stay in it. True, the team seemingly was running on enthusiasm – they were 12th with 26 points. If they finished with 25 points… they would be relegated, having worse goal-difference than Radomiak. So, it was well done for the moment, but the team was running out of steam.

Motor (Lublin) – 9th with 27 points. Modest club, which had no pretensions for more than keeping place in the top division. This they did, but with constant fretting – avoiding relegation was their whole concern. Amazingly, the league’s top scorer Iwanicki played for them. Kalinowski faded long time ago, yet, he was the only player in the team with some fame – having been reserve goalkeeper of the great Polish squad at the 1974 World Cup. His reserve, Karwat, also became fairly well known player, but much later – presently, he was too young for anything.

Gornik (Walbrzych) – it all depends on standpoint: from a general point of view, nothing special about this squad. But from a local and historic point of view – one of the best seasons of the club, usually playing second division football. 8th with 29 points. They were the team with most ties this season – 13.

Ruch (Chorzow) was 7th with 29 points and ahead of Walbrzych only on better goal-difference. Nothing to be proud with – from a leading club, they dropped to rubbing shoulders with modest teams, more familiar with Second Division.

Zaglebie (Sosnowiec) – 5th with 31 points. Well done for typically modest club. Then again… Zaglebie, remaining pretty much the same as ever playing stronger than Ruch. Occasional club’s decline is one thing; modest and not improving clubs performing better than traditional powerhouses is something else.

Lech (Poznan). A different category all together – Lech, in good form, lost the race for the title, ending 4th with 38 points. Well, that was 7 points than the 5th, Zaglebie, had. This was good period for the club, so nothing surprising. Yet, how good is good? Some strong players, true, but nobody of outstanding ability. Perhaps a sturdy squad, but no more than that.

Widzew (Lodz) was 3rd with 39 points. Keeping strong somewhat against the odds, but with a question mark – how long they will be among the best? There stars were going abroad one after another.

Legia (Warszawa) – 2nd with 41 points. This was coming back of sorts – Legia was able to stay among the top Polish clubs all the time, but not always was a real factor. Now they were a title contender again , losing the title by the single point. Even so, it was not a very promising squad.

Legia was bested by true comeback – Gornik (Zabrze). Tough, even dramatic, victory – after 16 wins, 10 ties, and 4 losses, Gornik had 42 points. They would have been champions even if ending with 41 points, having superior goal-difference than Legia: 38-16 to 36-19. Should have been memorable victory – their first since 1972, making the total to 11 Polish titles. Yet, it looks like just a joyous moment, than something of historic importance – perhaps because of the squad, which, no matter what, is not of the class of the one of the late 1960s. It took more than one title to notice the players and in fairness this victory could be described only briefly: it was very young team, not matured yet, and because of that all credit should go to the coach. The coach was one of the key players of the already mentioned squad of the golden years: Hubert Kostka. The former national team goalkeeper was perhaps more ambitious than anything else, for he does not count among the greatest Polish trainers, but he succeeded. Then again… it may have been just a case of getting advantage of general weaknesses and shortcomings this year. Having a young squad was important asset for the future, though.

Poland. The season can be described with two words: low scoring. Permanent characteristic of Polish football, which may be strange to people familiar with Lubanski, Gadocha, Lato, Szarmach, Deyna, Boniek, and Smolarek. Not single team in the top Polish leagues managed 2 goals per game average. Gwardia (Warszawa) – 2nd in the Group 1 of Second Division scored most goals – 56. Odra (Wodzislaw) – 4th in the same group was second best with 46 goals. Only 3 other teams managed 40 or more goals – Lech (Poznan, 4th in First Division), Zawisza (Bydgoszcz, 4th in Group 1, Second Division), and Igloopol (Debica, 2nd in Group 2, Second Division). The champions of the country scored only 38 goals in 30 games – which was the second best record in First Division. May be defensive tactics dominated Polish football? Unlikely, for, with few exceptions, the teams allowed pretty much as many goal as they scored and only 6 teams finished the season with positive goal-difference in the First Division. Simply, there were no scorers. Add to it that all good and near-good players were eager to get foreign contracts as soon as they can. Polish football was rather poor show and many a club was already in trouble. Old and once respected clubs were down – Polonia (Warszawa) and Cracovia (Krakow) ended at the bottom of Second Division’s Group 2 and were relegated down to Third Division. Polonia (Bytom) was 10th in the same group. Hutnik (Krakow) was 3rd. In Group 1 Szombierki (Bytom), country cahmapions just a few years ago, was trying to return to top flight, but unsuccessfully – they were 3rd. Gwardia (Warszawa) managed only 2nd place in the same group. True, the group winners were both former first division members, but one of them was Stal (Mielec) – the powerful and successful club in the 1970s, which gave to the world Lato, Szarmach, and more. Down in First Division was another recent champion – Slask (Wroclaw). So was Ruch (Chorzow). And last and relegated was perhaps the most stable club in Polish history – Wisla (Krakow). Amaingly, the national team was still going strong – but it was a squad depending mostly on foreign-based stars. With the clock ticking, the future was quite gloomy – Boniek and company were aging and they had no replacements. The topscorer of the championship Leszek Iwanicki (Motor Lublin) had 14 goals.

Unmemorable season…

Zaglebie (Lubin) won Group 1 of Second Division and, thus, promotion. Of course, they did their best against equally tough – or similarly shaky – opposition and prevailed over Gwardia (Warszawa) and Szombierki (Bytom), but 40 points after 30 games was not suggestive of strong, up and coming, team.

Stal (Mielec) mirrored Zaglebie in Group 2 – also 40 points, also coming barely ahead of two pursuers, Igloopol (Debica) and Huthik (Krakow), and also promising little. This may or may not be a photo of Stal 1984-85 and precision is not even important – it was not a team attracting interest.

Perhaps the only team showing progress and a promise for the future was Igloopol – they came out of the blue and wanted to do better. How soon… nobody could tell.

Denmark. The mystery of time – today is unbelievable to see who was leading Danish club in 1985. It was equally unbelievable a few years before 1985 too. It was not just the strong performance of Lyngby – there was a quite new club, shaped entirely for professional football, which climbed to the top and stayed there for more than a decade. One can argue that the wonderful national team was pulling up the whole Danish football. One can also argue that moving to professional football in the late 1970s finally produced fruits. Then one can also argue that the profound changes of the international football scene, the whole approach to the game, reshaped old perceptions – previously weak countries were getting stronger, the old powers were not so supreme, for the new philosophy of the sport inevitably made all rather the same. Still, the changes did not reshape traditional status quo – Denmark had great national team, but the clubs were not so. Better than before may be, but not very strong yet. The changes taking place were domestic – change of local status quo. And they were pushed forward by reforms: the top Danish league was to be reduced for the next season to 14 teams – thus, 4 teams faced relegation, with 2 newcomers. It was clear that professionalism was tough pill to swallow for many a club and the only way to make more competitive championship was to weed out those not able to adapt.

KB (Copenhagen) and Randers Freja came on top in the Second Division and rightfully earned promotion. The convulsions of the old clubs, facing new times: KB is one of the oldest clubs in Europe, founded in 1876. They were Danish champions in 1980. Then they plunged down to Second Division.

Three teams in the First Division were too weak – B93, last with 16 points; Koge Boldklub – 15th with 17 points; and Hvidovre IF – 14th with 23 points. Old and well known BK Frem tried desperately to avoid relegation and failed – 13th with 27 points.

Perhaps more teams were going to be sifted out of professional league, but for the moment they managed. Old power was unsettled by the new demands.

Vejle finished 7th with 32 points. This was a season of concern – fighting to survive in the league instead of competing for the title: they finished mere 5 points ahead of relegated Hvidovre, but 11 points behind the champions.

The clubs well adjusted to professional requirements were at the top of league: OB Odense – 4th with 35 points, AGF Aarhus – 3rd with 36 points, and Lyngby BK – 2nd with 37 points. Yet, they paled behind the new champions.

Brondby IF dominated the championship, winning it with 6 points cushion. 16 wins, 11 ties, 3 losses, 50-27, and 43 points. It was rather abnormal victory – rarely in the past a champion was so clearly above the rest. Brondby, relatively new club, looked like designed for professional football. And they exploded this season, winning their 1st title. Unlike many new champions around the world, Brondby did not look like one time wonder – there was certainty they will be leaders for the years to come. But still Danish football was not all that strong to keep people’s minds on it – the banner behind the winners is quite instructive: ‘Brondby till Mexico’. The national team and the coming World Cup was most important.

The Cup final continued the success story of Lyngby, the club which came under the lights before Brondby. They met Esbjerg fB at the final and prevailed 3-2.

Second Cup in a row, making the numbers to 1 title and 2 Cups in 3 consecutive years. They were the second best in this year championship.

Wales. Hidden championship, of course. One may be surprised to see 17 teams playing First Division football there, names almost unpronounceable, unless you know Welsh.

Barry Town dominated the championship, winning it with 5-point margin. Fine, but since Welsh football remained outside European sight, it had to be only local pride. For Barry Town, though, the season was memorable – they represented Wales in the Cup Winners Cup and their short appearance touched the hearts of the club’s supporters.

As for what did matter, it was the Cup final. Bangor City met English Shrewsbury Town. Shrewsbury was lowly, indeed, but Bangor City was nowhere to be seen – not in the English professional leagues; not in the Welsh league. They played somewhere in the vast semi-professional and non-professional English leagues, thus, automatically weaker than lowly, but professional opponent. Shrewsbury had no trouble beating Bangor and collecting the Welsh Cup for a second consecutive year – 3-1 and 2-0.

All things relative, Shrewsbury Town had all reasons to be proud and happy – one more trophy for a club without any chance to win something in England. Yet, it was the end of the road too – they could not represent Wales in Europe.

Bangor City lost the Cup, but no matter – they were Welsh club and winning or losing the Cup, they were going to get a taste of European football in the Cup Winners Cup. So, it was fine reward for losers.

Cyprus. This championship in one sentence: the domination of Omonia (Nicosia) remained. Cypriot football was improving, but without any change of the long established order and the season was not dramatic at all – no hot pursuits neither at the top, nor at the bottom of the table. If anything, a question was rising – was smaller towns wise to keep more than one club? It could be better to amalgamate them into one stronger and more competitive club. The divide between first and second divisions was getting wider – newly promoted teams were practically doomed to immediate relegation and it was a tiny cluster of clubs meandering between the two leagues. The bulk of second-level clubs was clearly incapable of going up. Traditional order remained in the top level, unchanging. This championship was point in case.

Ethnikos (Achna) finished 3rd in Second Dividion. Missed promotion, but they were one of the teams capable of going up – for a brief spell.

APOP (Paphos) was 2nd and promoted – nothing new about it and as good as the season was, the future was pretty much known: they will be back.

Ermis (Aradippou) won the Second Division. Promoted, of course, and, like APOP, expected to return to Second Division after a single year. Happened before…

So, the best second division teams hailed from Aradippou and Paphos… Let see the cursed bottom of the top division.

Evagoras (Paphos) was last. They lost 20 of 26 total championship games and won only one! 7 Points – so out of touch even for the weak Cypriot championship. Down again.

Omonia (Aradippou) – 13th with 20 points. Much better than Evagoras, but not really having a chance: Aris (Limassol), 12th, was hardly in any danger this season and finished with 24 points. So, the rival clubs in Paphos and Aradippou simply exchanged places and most likely the next season will be the same. They were not able even to produce a home derby of a kind, for local clubs only replaced each other in the leagues, not playing in the same championship. It made sense to fuse these clubs into something stronger… then again, people like their own clubs. But with the increasing financial demands of professional football and the limited resources – both money and talent – may be not just Paphos and Aradippou should have thought of amalgamations: Larnaca had 3 clubs in the top league, neither strong enough for more than mid-table. This season the rivals were equal, finishing with 25 points – Alki, 8th, EPA – 7th, and Pezoporikos – 6th. Goal-difference decided final places and perhaps supporters had their small consolation seeing their team ahead of the neighbours, but the ugly fact was that no Larnaca club was even remotely close to leading position. Similar, although stronger by a notch or two, was the presence of Limassol – also 3 teams in the top league, neither capable of running for the title. Aris was down this year – 12th – but the other two run shoulder to shoulder, ending with 28 points each. AEL took 5th place. Apollon clinched 4th place on better goal-difference, but… 5 points behind Anorthosis (Famagusta).

The exiles from Famagusta did well, as usual, but even they could benefit from amalgamation, for there was also Nea Salamina playing a minor role in the top division. That was the reality: hardly ever both Famagusta teams did well in the same season and the stronger perhaps was able to aim for 2nd or 3rd place, but not for the title. Anorthosis did exactly that – entangled in a battle with APOEL for 2nd place, they lost it by single point and had to be satisfied with bronze medals. Alas, no European football for them.

Nicosia was best suited for more than one club, yet, two were rather enough. Presently, they had 3 in First Division and 1 in the Second. Orfeas, if lucky, may climb to the top league for a very short spell one day and Olympiakos, never at par with Omonia and APOEL, was seemingly getting behind – they were 11th this season, seemingly settling permanently for the lower half of the table. APOEL and Omonia were traditionally another matter, but may be the smaller local rivals only diverted resources by now, preventing the leaders from increasing their power. May be only tangentially, but APOEL was not in great shape – they did not challenge Omonia at all. Their biggest concern seemed to be getting the Cyrpiot UEFA Cup spot, which they achieved, but with difficulty. Second at the end, but 7 points behind Omonia.

So, it was Omonia again – 6th consecutive title! Forget the class – rather, the lack of it – of the opposition, it was great achievement. Such consistent dominance begs for deeper look – Bulgarian help was clearly the secret of Omonia. With the single brief exception of 1974-75, Omonia had only Bulgarian coaches since 1967. And it will be the same until 1990! After 1980, players were added to the coaching staff – Atanas Dramov coached Omonia this season, aided by Spas Dzhevizov and Ventzislav Arssov on the pitch. Dramov was new arrival, but the players were instrumental in winning the title the previous season. Arssov retired at the end of the season, but Dzhevizov stayed with Omonia until 1987. The Bulgarian presence really shaped Omonia and kept it strong – if anything, the long consistency provided steady approach, sameness, familiar training, perpetuating it generation after generation.

Dominant Omonia, but no double.

AEL (Limassol) and

EPA (Larnaca) reached the final in which early goal by Stelios Pelendritis gave the victory to AEL. Wonderful moment for a club hardly ever winning anything.